


one point perspective.

by portraitofgyu



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Choi Soobin-Centric, Confused Choi Soobin, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pining Choi Yeonjun, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28957698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/portraitofgyu/pseuds/portraitofgyu
Summary: Soobin is in his third year of university, his best friends are in a relationship with each other, his mom is pining for the lady at the bakery, and a guy he doesn't know just sent him free food on a Saturday night with a note asking him out for lunch.Blame it on his schoolwork-induced headache, blame it on his lack of fucks to give, but he goes to meet the stranger anyway.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	one point perspective.

**Author's Note:**

> !! cursing.

_**One.** _

At 20 years old, Choi Soobin finds himself experiencing a quarter-life crisis.

And like most young adults who have no idea which age is the quarter of their last year as a living mess, Soobin decides that he’ll do the math when he’s on his death bed and just continue living a life of ongoing crisis.

How fun.

That’s how his roommate, Taehyun, found him. Just a sad lump on the couch with papers all over the place and eyes staring hard at the ceiling as if he was thinking that if he glared at it hard enough something would appear. Taehyun fears that one day a hole would actually appear because of how often he finds Soobin glaring at it. Like he has lasers shooting out of his eyes like that one character from that movie.

“What is it this time?” The younger of the two asked, crossing the space from the front door and to the kitchen where he placed the items he got from his quick trip to the grocery.

“Do you think I can be a successful barista?”

The blue-haired boy sat up, blanket sliding down to his lap as he twisted his body to look at his roommate from his position in the living room. “Or a successful baker?” he added.

“With lots of effort, I don’t see why you can’t be either or both.” Taehyun, who was opening and closing cupboards to store the food in their right places, answered. They’ve had this conversation a lot of times, he already knows how this conversation will go and how it would end. He also already knows that it would be brought up again next week.

Two weeks ago, Soobin asked if Taehyun could see him as a successful writer. Last week, he asked if Taehyun thinks he can have a career in the art industry. This week, Soobin’s in the mood for getting that bread and caffeine. Next week, who knows? Maybe he’ll ask if he can have his hand as a teacher.

Taehyun’s patient about it despite the topic being repetitive, and Soobin is thankful for that because he himself is tired of his weekly search for _the_ job that he could literally work with after university. He’s constantly contemplating about his life after school that it baffles him how this younger boy in his kitchen has it all figured out the moment he stepped foot into university.

Not everyone can have the mind and will of Kang Taehyun, and Soobin thinks that sucks.

Soobin continued watching his roommate organize their groceries with practiced ease and he can’t help but wish that he too had the same manner when it comes to knowing where to put things and not looking like a headless chicken running around in both panic and confusion.

Did he just compare Taehyun navigating their kitchen with him navigating his life like a lost headless chicken? Yes.

Life is a huge kitchen and Soobin does not know how to cook without a fire extinguisher at the ready.

Soobin is a mess, and he’s almost on his last year of university. So _not only_ is he a mess, he’s a mess with a blurry future and crystal clear future bills to pay. He needs to get his shit together, and he needs to do it fast. Which is exactly the reason why he’s been asking Taehyun about these various jobs that he could take on once he’s out of university, because unemployment is not a good time when you have a stomach to feed.

“I don’t think your mom would let you be a baker though. You know how she has 'beef' with the baker lady across her shop,” that seemed to be a good thing to say because Soobin momentarily forgets his thoughts about being jobless and laughs at Taehyun’s remark, remembering the story his mom told them when she came over their apartment for a visit.

“Mom has a crush on her and she’s just living in the early stages of an enemies-to-lovers trope,” Soobin knows his mom gets into quite a few arguments with people she doesn’t approve of but there’s something odd about his mom constantly talking about her that makes Soobin laugh to himself. He can’t really say it to her face because she does give him his allowance but boy does he believe that the anger she feels for the lady is just repressed attraction.

“Now that I think about it though, why don’t you just work at your mom’s coffee shop? You know, be a successful barista there.” Taehyun puts away the bags he got from the store and heads back to the living room, making sure to avoid stepping on any papers that slid to the floor.

You see, that’s the thing.

Soobin knows that he can have the privilege of working at a place that’s technically his so he doesn’t have to start from scratch and hand out resumes, he can live comfortably under the care of the coffee shop. But he doesn’t even like coffee, or serving people, or managing a business. He can choose the easy route of caring for the coffee shop like its a family business while his mom runs off with her girlfriend, or he can try his luck doing other jobs to see what works for him because he doesn’t have a particular dream job.

Or he can just say fuck it and see the world.

Soobin wants to live a life that he wants. Yet, he doesn’t even know what kind of life he wants in the first place. But to end the conversation that was quickly making him get even more anxious about his future, Soobin smiles at Taehyun and says: “I’ll think about it.”

By that, he meant he’ll _overthink_ about it.

Soobin grew up in a humble neighbourhood, in a humble house with a humble garden out front, everything about the street he grew up in was humble. What wasn’t humble about it was the people who lived there. Specifically, the parents who were so proud of their kids that they just had to have daily announcements of how their son Hun had just won another trophy from a guitar competition, or how their good son Seunghyub was every mom’s dream son-in-law, or how their lazy cat just scared their rival neighbor’s dog.

Everyone always had something to brag about, except for Soobin's mom.

Each morning the aunties would gather in the town plaza to talk about trivial things and Soobin’s mom would always go home exhausted and ready to rant to her 14-year-old son about how her dream is to not end up like one of the moms in their neighbourhood. Soobin told her to just stop hanging out with them, and she just sighed before making a dramatic speech about how they need allies because who else would knock on their door to give them free and tasty food during Christmas?

Who else would watch over their house when they’re out for a mother-and-son vacation? Who else would fix their creaky front door for free when she’s too lazy to do so? Soobin admires her dedication in making their proud neighbors work for her gain.

Being surrounded by these successful older kids made Soobin think about his future a lot.

He thought about it a lot in middle school, in high school, and even when they moved to city before he started university. The talks instilled an idea in him that by the time he reached 20 years old, he too should be successful and be something. Even if it’s just being a successful cook when it comes to standard college meals, but he can’t even cook ramen without it looking like too bloated.

Even though his mom was never one of those people who would pressure their child into achieving something when they reach a certain age, stories of other parents and other kids did affect him in some way.

Having Taehyun as his roommate only made the impact of that idea more intense to Soobin, because the younger boy is exactly someone who those neighbourhood aunties would go on and on about. Good with his studies, good with words, has a pleasant personality, headstrong yet sentimental, has a whole list of skills that Soobin thinks he should brag about more often, he’s good with his money too, treats people kindly, Soobin can write a whole essay about him.

Does Soobin feel inferior because of Taehyun’s close presence in his life? No.

Soobin doesn’t need another person to make him feel bad about himself.

He can do that and more on his own, thank you very much.

He attends their university as a student majoring in literature. He chose the major because he enjoys reading, he considers reading a very important part of his daily routine, but all it took was one term in class and suddenly reading feels like a chore to him.

He really should have listened to the people who told him he shouldn’t pursue a degree grounded on his hobbies, because then the hobby would lose its magic. Maybe not everyone goes through it but Soobin certainly did, he can’t even read a middle-grade novel now without him analyzing every bit of it like he was reading it for class.

With his only hobby now weighing heavy on him, Soobin spends his time trying to pick up another activity that would keep him occupied. Not one activity kept his interest for longer than a week though. He always starts his day with a sigh and ends it with an even deeper sigh, one thought glaringly loud in his mind: “Is this it?”

**_**Two.** _ **

**__ **

Soobin wakes up to the sound of laughter outside his room, and he turns to his side with a frown. It’s too early for anyone to be over and definitely too early for him to wake up on one of the rare days that he wouldn’t be hearing his professor quote another line from The Picture of Dorian Gray at eight in the morning.

Soobin doesn’t like reading classics very much, neither does 80% of the class, so their professor made it a point to annoy them with random quotes from every dramatic character in English literature. “If you kids annoy me with modern slang, then I’ll annoy you with old theatrics,” that was their professor’s logic.

**__ **

“THE PANCAKE’S BURNING!”

“FLIP IT OVER!”

“IT’S STUCK!”

“MOVE!”

“YOU MOVE, YOU’RE IN MY WAY!”

Well there goes Soobin’s peaceful Saturday morning.

With a grunt, he unwillingly gets up from his comfortable position and slides his feet into his slippers, making his way to the door and to the source of the ruckus that ruined his slumber.

“Shut up,” he says over a yawn, side leaning against the door frame and eyes barely open.

When he opens them properly, he decides that he would rather have his professor talk to him about Dorian Gray for two hours straight than face the people that found themselves in his kitchen. Again. Hell, his professor can even throw in a bit of quotes from Dr. Jekyll and Hyde there, Soobin doesn’t care.

“Good morning!”

The boy that wasn’t holding the pan waves at him brightly, as if none of them couldn’t smell the burning pancake that was being rescued by the other intruder. At least when Soobin cooks a disaster, he’s ready with a fire extinguisher. These two? They would jump into a freezing pool shirtless.

“Oh? Why are you up early?” Beomgyu asked after successfully transferring the burnt and still hot pancake to a plastic plate. Soobin really doesn’t know how Taehyun got stuck with these two in his first year in university, how Soobin got dragged to their friend group, and how he became the designated moral compass of the three.

It’s an odd odd world.

_“Oh?_ _Why are you up early?_ Maybe if you kept your voices down..” he repeated mockingly, making Kai laugh and Beomgyu roll his eyes. Soobin steps into the kitchen and moves past Kai to get himself a cup of water, the older boy rubbing his belly as he passed.

Seeing the pair in his kitchen, or in any corner in his shared dorm room with Taehyun isn’t a surprise anymore. They live on the floor just above theirs but the two come over so much that the dorm manager had to ask if they mistakenly assigned four students in one room.

“What brings you here?”

“Did you forget?”

“Forget what?”

Kai threw his hand over his mouth as if those two words personally insulted his whole lineage. Unlike Soobin’s professor though, Kai’s flair for the dramatics aren’t intended to annoy anyone at 8am so Soobin only smiles fondly at his actions.

“Tell me, what did I forget?”

“It’s Taehyun’s birthday!”

“Oh yeah, I know. And?”

Now it’s Beomgyu’s turn to gasp, mitten-covered hand covering his mouth in surprise. The oldest in the room can only hope that he turned the stove off before doing that. Perfect pair, these two.

“What do you mean _and?_ It’s his birthday!”

“And we also know he likes having a quiet celebration and he probably won’t be up until before lunch, you’re gonna need to re-heat those pancakes for him because it’s only..” Soobin checks the clock hanging on the wall of the living room, “Seven in the morning.”

Soobin looks at their downcast expressions, and he actually doesn’t know if he should laugh or feel bad for the two. They must be more excited about the day than the birthday boy himself, maybe because it’s their first time celebrating the occasion on time since Taehyun usually spends time with his family during his birthday.

“Hey, hey, cheer up. I’ll risk waking him up myself if that makes you two stop frowning. He’ll probably throw something at me but I’m willing to be your sacrifice.” Soobin hopes Taehyun doesn’t have a hardbound book on his night stand or else his reflex would really be tested this morning.

Kai offered to go with him but Soobin directs him to the boy wearing an apron instead, and Kai’s more than happy to join Beomgyu. Such good friends.

Soobin stands in front of Taehyun’s door, his hand on the doorknob and as soon as he twists it open, a book comes flying across the room and to the side of the door. Good thing Taehyun’s aim is off today because when Soobin looked at the menacing object it was, in fact, a hardbound book.

“Good morning to you too,” he closes the door behind him and picks up the book, placing it on Taehyun’s study table and far from the boy himself in case he tries to aim for Soobin a second time. That happened quite a few times in the past before Soobin learned his lesson.

“It’s too early,” Taehyun groaned, curling on himself under the covers.

“When did that ever stop your boyfriends from crashing into our dorm?”

Taehyun removes the blanket from his upper body and Soobin thinks Taehyun really would have hit him with a book if he had one close to him. “They’re not my boyfriends.”

“Oh right because you didn’t confess yet. Right. True, true. Wouldn’t argue with that. You’re as single as I am, how could I forget? I didn’t get you anything for your birthday yet, may I interest you with some courage instead so you could get your shit together and end your special day with two boyfriends?”

“How about you fuck off?”

“Gladly,” Soobin only winks at his roommate’s intimidating glare before exiting the room, making sure to keep the door halfway opened and lights switched on so Taehyun would get annoyed and would have no reason but to get up from his bed.

Taehyun would call his actions insufferable, Soobin would argue that it’s just tough love.

He walks back to his room, annoyed that he wasn’t in the mood to go back to sleep but also glad because university kept him from properly spending time with his three friends, maybe it’s time he makes up for the lost time.

When Soobin emerges from his room after taking a shower, Taehyun’s already with the pair and he’s obviously in a better mood than earlier. Although when Soobin made his presence known, Taehyun glares at him paired with a threatening: “Don’t think I forgot about what you said.”

He’s as scary as a kitten to Soobin.

“How many pancakes did you burn?” Taehyun asked the two and Beomgyu looked at Kai shyly, a look that Kai didn’t return because he gave him a bright and proud smile instead before turning to look at Taehyun. “Just two this time! Beomgyu worked hard on making sure it looks edible.”

Watching this unfold in front of him, Soobin wished he had his own Beomgyu and Kai too. Someone that would cook burnt pancakes for him because effort weighs heavier than the quality of their cooking. Burnt pancakes, who knew Soobin would end up wishing for such thing in life?

They began eating a few minutes later, and Soobin can tell that Taehyun’s trying really hard to express his delight with his actions to make the other two feel proud of themselves. The Taehyun Soobin knows would only show that he appreciates your cooking by patting your shoulder or making sure he eats everything on his plate, but he’s making an effort to be vocal for Beomgyu and Kai. Soobin thinks it’s interesting to find another side of a person when he’s in love.

Soobin manages to eat three pancakes, and even though they weren’t perfect circles - not that they have to, the taste did exceed his expectations. Beomgyu and Kai really do have to give themselves more credit for waking up early and cooking for their friend that Soobin knows they would rather have as a boyfriend.

They’re all just confused second years and Soobin just wants them to get together as soon as possible because this whole pining thing is not good for his own lack of pining. One day he’ll be able to get back at them for making him witness every stolen glances and hidden smiles. One day.

Later that day, the group did everything Taehyun wanted them to. A feat Taehyun fortunately didn’t abuse because Soobin would rather move out of their dorm that let Taehyun make him use the stairs from the lobby of their dorm to the sixth floor. He loves Taehyun, but he loves his legs and oxygen more.

So far, Taehyun only made him wash the dishes while Beomgyu and Kai move their blankets to the couch and prepare the space for a movie marathon. That’s all Taehyun said he wanted to do, to watch movies and pretend that they don’t have deadlines to chase and books to read. Just a quiet celebration.

And since he knows Taehyun and Beomgyu loves coffee, Kai loves egg tarts, and he loves not being a fourth wheel, he sets out to the street that holds his mom’s coffee shop and her not-girlfriend’s bakery. It’s been a while since he last visited despite it being only 40 minutes away from their dormitory, and he blames his unending pile of work for that.

He stops at the bakery first, which was only a few steps away from the bus stop. When Soobin entered, the lady behind the counter smiled widely, abandoning her spot so she could walk up to the boy. “Your mom sent you to spy on my business again?” She teased in a good-natured manner, her pastel blue apron an obvious contrast between her and Soobin’s mom’s personality.

“No, not this time.” He replied in the same manner, letting her lead the way to the place he’s already familiar with. Soobin still laughs at the memory of his mom sending him across the street to spy on the bakery when the bakery doesn’t even have coffee, which means they’re not playing the same game and his mom’s just using it as an excuse.

Why is everyone around him pining for someone? Is that another trend he’s behind on?

“That’s a shame then, I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“She’ll get around. She still won’t stop talking about you so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

She sighed dreamily, already grabbing a bag for Soobin. “How I wish your mother would be more direct like you, I feel like I’m back to being a high school student. But enough of that, what would you have today? The usual?”

“No, no, I’m here to get egg tarts for someone.”

He meets her eyes, and he chuckles before adding, “For a friend, _just a friend_. I left the romance up to mom.”

Once the egg tarts are in the bag and the auntie throws him out of his bakery after he he kept insisting that he wanted to pay, he makes his way to his mom’s coffee shop where - for sure - a series of questions would welcome him.

And welcome it did.

“I saw that blue hair of yours in the bakery, what did she say? Did she say anything about me? Is her business doing well? What did you get from there? Who are those for? Wh-”

“Can we talk about my day first?”

Soobin holds eye contact with his mom, and he almost laughs at how much her stare reminded him of Taehyun’s glare at him earlier. Taehyun and his mom spend so much time together that Soobin’s beginning to think that he’s actually the Choi and not Soobin.

“So are you going to ask about my day?” Soobin sits across her and places the bag of egg tarts on the table, making sure to show off the bakery’s logo just to piss her off more. If no one’s gonna push his mom into confessing then Soobin’s gonna have to do it himself.

“No, nothing exciting ever happens in your life.” Then, she pettily covers the bakery’s logo with the sticker of the coffee shop that she was conveniently carrying in her pocket.

Soobin faked pain and put his palm over his heart, “Ouch.”

How long does Soobin have to pretend that his mom’s joking words, which he’s used to, is actually starting to hurt him?

**_**Three.** _ **

**__ **

“Don’t stay up.”

“Why are you saying that like I ever stayed up for you?”

Taehyun playfully hits his arm before walking out of the door and to the lobby where Beomgyu and Kai must be waiting. He must be too nervous to actually hit Soobin for real.

It’s the night after Taehyun’s birthday and as Kai told him yesterday, when Soobin was out to get them coffee and egg tarts, Taehyun actually yelled at them to shut up since they moved on from having a movie marathon to playing video games and when Beomgyu and Kai didn’t stop yelling at each other over a game of Mario Kart, Taehyun kissed both of their cheeks.

“Shut the fuck up or I won’t ever do that again,” those were Taehyun’s words, Kai said.

So, who were they to keep fighting? And now they’re about to go on their first date, not simply as friends but something more. Not quite boyfriends either but Soobin knows it wouldn’t be long before they get there.

He’s glad he wasn’t in the dorm to witness any of that soft shit.

He’s happy for Taehyun and his friends, he really is even though he often teases the younger for it. He’s happy because the three truly deserve each other. To share a love like that, Soobin’s glad they found each other even though they met in what Soobin would call hell above the ground (read: university).

So tonight, it’s only him and his books. Books that weren’t even on his to-be-read list, it’s books that he’s forced to read or else his grades will have to pay for it. Really, Soobin misses the times when he would read simply because he wanted to.

With another sigh escaping his lips, he puts his glasses back on and picks up another one of Oscar Wilde’s books. Was Soobin reading? Yes. Did he understand anything? No. Does he want to toss the book across the room and yell in agony? He wouldn’t want to do anything more than that.

His pain only increases after reading two more of Wilde’s works and what follows next was a book about the infamous Sherlock Holmes. Every other passage Soobin would go ‘No shit, Sherlock’, and he could feel his eyes and head starting to hurt too. Maybe if he was reading works like The Night Circus or The Perks of Being A Wallflower he wouldn’t have to suffer this much, at least he actually wanted to read those books for leisure.

He was just about to pick up another book to scan when a knock interrupts his concentration. He looks at the time on his phone, it’s way too early for Taehyun to be home and the three did mention going on a roadtrip so that would take quite a while. You know, because they’re the main characters of their own coming-of-age film and somehow they decided that a roadtrip would be fitting for their first date.

Sickeningly adorable, Soobin thinks.

Soobin waits for another round of knocks, but it didn’t come. Yet he was sure someone knocked so bravely, or maybe his brain was just too fried to even care, he walks to the door and crouches down to look at the space between the bottom of the door and the floor. Why? Because he isn’t like those stupid people in scary movies that immediately stick their eyes to the door viewer then assume there’s no one there just because they didn’t see anyone outside.

Something was placed outside his door, and just to make sure that he still sees the light of tomorrow, he grabs the baseball bat he and Taehyun bought as a joke in their first month living together. He unlocks the door and throws the door open, and since their door opens outward for safety purposes, whatever was placed outside the door slid halfway down the hall.

When Soobin saw what it was, he suddenly felt bad, because turns out what was blocking the door earlier was a box of pizza from his favorite pizza place near the university. He looks around, just to make sure no one was around, and sighs in relief.

Setting the baseball bat down, he retrieves the box and hurries back to their room, making sure to lock the door behind him. He sets his book on the floor and carefully places the still warm box on the table, the warmth and smell suddenly reminding him that he hasn’t had dinner yet since he was so focused on reading about Dorian Gray being a dramatic and narcissistic piece of murderous sh-

“What’s this?”

He notices a note stuck on the top of the box after opening it, it was a receipt for the pizza but someone had written something on the back of the paper. He tears it from the box and reads the note out loud.

“Can I treat you to free pizza on Monday? You can decline, but if you do end up agreeing for some reason, I’ll be waiting at the pizza place at 1pm. Oh and I didn’t stalk you for your house address by the way! I just asked my friends haha.” Soobin’s glad for the last part because it would be such a waste of good pizza if he finds out it ended up coming from a stalker. “Signed, Choi Yeonjun.”

**_**Four.** _ **

“Aren’t you eating lunch with us? Is it because you feel like a fourth wheel? We didn’t mean to make you feel like that, we swear!” Kai explained when Soobin told them he wasn’t going to join them on their usual lunch dates, which has always been their thing as a group even before one of the three found out about their feelings for each other.

“I know, Kai. I know,” Soobin appreciates the sentiment but really it’s not like that.

Listen, he’s been promised free pizza and he’ll be going to a fairly public place. And he got a name. If anything happens to him, the evidence is inside the drawer where he usually keeps his pens. The receipt-slash-note’s easy enough to see.

“I still can’t believe that you’re not making up excuses though. I mean, I never knew you and Yeonjun knew each other?” Beomgyu tilted his head in confusion, and Taehyun nodded from beside him.

"I told you, I've never even heard of the guy." 

Soobin has no idea who Yeonjun is since as it turns out, Yeonjun majors in performing arts, and Soobin could not care less about the people from that department. His friends knows Yeonjun though, and according to them, so does half of the school. Which Soobin finds weird because how does half of the school take notice of one student unless said student is a celebrity?

Soobin can just assume that maybe there’s something to this guy that most people in their univeristy doesn’t. Like good manners, for example.

"He just sent me pizza and a note.”

Ten minutes before the said time, Soobin is making his way to the pizza place. Five minutes before the said time, he’s already standing in front of the store. Not a minute after the said time, he’s looking around the pizza place for any trace of Yeonjun who, as he realized, is basically unknown to him because he forgot to ask his friends how the person looks like.

So yeah, Soobin’s scanning the room awkwardly.

After five minutes of searching, he walks closer to the walls and texts Taehyun, ‘What does he look like???’ to which the younger boy replied with a short ‘Pink hair. Earrings on both ears’. Very short descriptions but probably all the information Soobin needed because not even a minute into scanning the room again and Soobin spots him.

Pink hair, multiple earrings, bottom lip caught between his teeth nervously, eyes looking at his phone, black and white checkered sweater that looked like it could pay for Soobin’s yearly university fees and then some, a pair of black jeans, and the standard school ID.

Maybe him being quite popular in their university does have some merit to it because other than him, the only stylish person Soobin has seen in his three years in that school is Beomgyu. Glad to see that he’s still making an effort to look fashionable even with school stress heavy on his back.

He stuck out like a sore thumb, but his current demeanor watered down his appeal to Soobin a bit.

Sensing the other boy’s increasing level of worry based on his expression, Soobin wastes no time in walking to his spot at the back of the room, clearing his throat once he got close enough.

“Choi Yeonjun, you asked to meet me?” Soobin spoke in a friendly manner.

“I.. I didn’t..” Yeonjun replied in a confused manner.

Soobin raised an eyebrow at the response he heard, because he reads for leisure and for his grades, he’s sure he didn’t misread that note. Not one word of it wasn’t clear to him. “You are Choi Yeonjun, aren’t you?” He asked instead, thinking that maybe he did read it correctly but just got the wrong person.

The pink-haired boy opened his mouth to answer, but then closes it. Then opens it again, and Soobin’s losing his patience. He has another class in an hour, a class he certainly hates, and he ditched his friends for the free pizza. The least this guy could do is answer him so he can still catch up with his friends and get some food.

“Are you Choi Yeonjun?”

“No..” he sounded unsure at first but he repeated the word again, just firmer. “No, I’m Kim Jinwoo.”

Soobin couldn’t help but scoff, raising his hand to point at the ID the guy was wearing.

“Kim Jinwoo.. your ID says Choi Yeonjun though?”

“This isn’t my ID.”

“It has your face on it.”

“It was a printing mistake.”

“So they made a printing mistake?

“Yes.”

“And you’re not Yeonjun?”

“No.”

“Not Choi Yeonjun?”

“No.”

“Not the one?”

“No.”

“Not telling the truth?”

“No.”

Checkmate.

Yeonjun must have realized that he gave himself away because his ears started going red, and he bit his bottom lip nervously again. Soobin doesn’t know why he tried to lie but he’s disappointed nonetheless, Yeonjun should have been more believable. Even sweet Kai could lie better than him.

“Is the free pizza still on?” Soobin asked cheekily, something he got from his mom.

Again, Yeonjun’s looking down at his phone, typing something, but he did answer Soobin.

“Yeah, I haven’t had lunch anyway.” He sighed once, a disappointed sigh, before leaving the table and walking past Soobin so he could go to the counter and order pizza for both of them. Which Soobin found was odd, and rude, because didn’t Yeonjun invite _him_ and not the other way around?

Here he thought he was going to have a pleasant lunch and be able to thank the sender of his dinner last night properly.

They spend their lunch quietly, because as Soobin found out, Yeonjun does not want to talk to him at all.

He tried his best to tell the boy how thankful he was for the pizza last night and today, asked him how he knew him, but Yeonjun kept answering in short sentences that it just made Soobin’s mood turn sour. He tried asking about the pizza he received last Saturday night, he asked about what Yeonjun majored in even though he already knew the answer, he also even asked about the weather! But Yeonjun kept his words to the bare minimum.

Halfway through his pizza, Soobin realized that his appetite was already spoiled by the company that obviously didn’t want him around. And what do you do when you’re with bad company? You leave.

With pursed lips, Soobin reached for his back pocket and takes a few bills out of his wallet, just enough to cover his share of the meal, and stands up from his spot. Yeonjun was obviously taken aback, and Soobin doesn’t know why he looks disappointed when it should be Soobin who’s supposed to be disappointed.

“Thank you for your time,” Soobin places the bill on the table and walks away.

If he was glaring throughout his entire class, then the professor obviously knew not to bother him.

“How was meeting Yeonjun?” Kai asked.

“Better if it didn’t happen.”

**_**Five.** _ **

**__ **

The next time they met, it was purely a coincidence.

Soobin needed to borrow a book before his classmates could checkout every single copy, so naturally, he went to the library. Then it turned out that Yeonjun, aside from being a really good performer (Kai’s words), a nice senior who dress well (Beomgyu’s words), and an overall okay human being (Taehyun’s words), Yeonjun also likes to volunteer at their university’s library.

Volunteers often wore a cyan-colored sling to hold their ID in the library, so when Soobin spotted a figure wearing a hoodie and the lanyard for student volunteers, he tapped the person’s shoulder and enthusiastically asked, “Hi! Where can I find Aristotle and Dante Dis..”

Yeonjun’s sharp eyes meet his and Soobin wished he had seen his pink hair (that was covered by his hoodie) earlier so he could have asked anyone but the boy. Yeonjun though, he was cool about seeing Soobin again. As if he didn’t just look at Soobin with so much disappointment in his voice the day they had ‘lunch’ together. Glad to know his presence didn’t matter much to the senior. Great.

“Aristotle and Dante? Like the philosophers?”

“Nevermind, they’re dead.”

Soobin turns on his heel and walks out of the library, no copy of ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’ on hand. Which, as a result, forced him to read the book online instead, and by the time he read the part he was supposed to read his eyes hurt so much that he had to take a strong pain reliever.

The incident flew past his head for the rest of the week. He hated the experience but since Yeonjun wasn’t really someone he knew, he was able to get over his bitter mood quickly. Shitty people exist, and he has to live with that fact. Not everyone can be as kind-hearted as Kai and that’s fine, in theory. In theory.

Ever since becoming aware of the other boy’s existence, Soobin started seeing him everywhere, and he did not like it one bit. He’s often accompanied by two boys, and he’s usually smiling. Nothing like the Yeonjun he met at the pizza place who basically dismissed his entire existence. Soobin doesn’t know what problem Yeonjun has with him but if there’s one thing Soobin is sure of, it’s that Soobin doesn’t like him.

So when he gets another pizza a week later, Soobin’s blood boils again. This time, the note read: “I’m sorry for acting that way. If you’re willing to forgive me, can we grab a proper lunch at the same place on Monday? My treat. - Choi Yeonjun.”

“Does he think he can get through me with pizza?”

If this guy thinks he can get his way to Soobin’s good graces by bribing him with food, he has to try harder. Maybe if he throws in an extra soda with the pizza, maybe fries, maybe Soobin would forgive him easier. 

Soobin runs a palm over his face, picking up the box of pizza and setting it on the same table that held the previous box from Yeonjun. The contents of the box were mocking him, the smell and smoke telling him to give Yeonjun another chance. That Yeonjun deserves it because he was thoughtful enough to give Soobin his favorite pizza and probably made his way to deliver it to his front door too.

Wait.

If he delivered it himself, then Yeonjun’s probably still close.

Soobin hurriedly crosses the room and pulls the curtain to the side, slightly leaning over the window just in time to see a boy with pink hair walking away from the building. He’s just wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweater, yet he still made it look stylish. Does everyone have their shit together in university except for Soobin? He doesn’t know what pushed him to do it (Soobin knows. He was feeling lonely because his roommate’s out again), but Soobin found himself yelling for the boy.

“Hey you!” Soobin hopes his voice could be heard from the sixth floor and to the distance Yeonjun already crossed. “Hey!”

“Hey you, pink hair!” Soobin smiled to himself as he saw Yeonjun stop in his tracks, looking around for the source of the voice, or for another person who had pink hair. “Up here!” Soobin yelled again and Yeonjun was finally able to locate him. Yeonjun points at himself as if asking if Soobin was indeed talking to him, and Soobin rolls his eyes. It’s late, everyone’s back in their dorm rooms, who else is standing outside with cotton candy pink hair?

“I can’t finish this pizza alone!” Soobin yells.

“What?” the pink-haired boy said when he was close enough to the building, jogging his way over so Soobin wouldn’t have to yell in the middle of the night and wake up the whole dorm. Which is good because Soobin doesn’t want to get in trouble for causing a ruckus.

“Have the pizza with me!”

Yeonjun looked unsure, and Soobin’s tired of being the one to always accommodate the boy. “Or don’t. I don’t care.”

The blue-haired boy proceeds to slide the curtains close again and walks back to the living room where the box of pizza was still waiting for him. Really, if he were Yeonjun he would just get it over with. Why wait for Monday to come when he can apologize right now? That means he doesn’t have to treat Soobin to pizza again.

Soobin gets his apology, Yeonjun gets to keep his money. It’s a win-win situation.

Soobin was finishing his second slice when he heard a knock on the door, and he made sure to take extra time in walking up to the door before opening it. The hallway’s quite cold during this time of the night, and he wants Yeonjun to suffer a little. By a little he means he spent a minute or two behind the door, just letting Yeonjun enjoy the cold of the hallway a bit before he opened the door.

“You’re not a serial killer, are you?” was Soobin’s introductory greeting.

“No?”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“No, I don’t think I am.”

“You don’t think you are?”

“I’m not a serial killer.”

“That’s better.”

Soobin’s friendly demeanor comes back almost instantly, he can never stay mad for long. True, he can stay mad at a person for all eternity, but that doesn’t mean actively acting mad is a part of that deal. Soobin has a life to deal with, he can’t be seething all the time. He’s petty, but not too petty.

He points at the chair Yeonjun can sit on, a chair usually occupied by his roommate. Soobin offers him a slice and Yeonjun smiles with pursed lips while accepting it. From a distance, Yeonjun doesn’t seem like the type to be shy but maybe appearance could be misleading.

This time, Soobin doesn’t make any effort to make small talk with the boy beside him, instead he just wordlessly goes to the kitchen to grab two cans of soda and places one in front of Yeonjun who appreciatively smiles at him. He smiles more than he talks, Soobin noticed. Or maybe Soobin just makes him feel out of place, who knows. Soobin’s fine with it either way.

With a slice of pizza on one hand and a book on the other, Soobin leans back on the couch, resuming what he was doing before Yeonjun disturbed his night for the second time. Tonight, he’s reading the classic stories by the Grimm brothers, which actually doesn’t frustrate him as much as his past readings did.

He didn’t care much for his guest, he did invite him in so there wouldn’t be any leftover pizza, right? And last time Soobin checked, conversation isn’t necessary when sharing a meal. Encouraged, but not entirely necessary.

So it came as no surprise when Yeonjun was the one who broke the silence.

“Your shirt, the sauce is dripping to your shirt.” Soobin would have noted how pretty Yeonjun’s voice was when he’s actually talking willingly instead of acting like he was being forced to do so if it wasn’t for the fact that Soobin just happened to wear a white shirt, and hot sauce was apparently making its way to said white shirt because he was too busy reading.

Soobin cursed, jumping up from the couch, quickly moving the pizza away from him. His expression must have been hilarious because his guest chuckles. He chuckled, then he laughed wholeheartedly. Soobin doesn’t know what was so funny about sauce getting on his white shirt, he doesn’t know what’s funny about him having a hard time removing the stain later.

Soobin doesn’t understand so he just stared, then, after staring at the laughing boy, he heard himself let out a laugh of his own. Soon, their laughter filled the room and all the tension Soobin didn’t realize existed earlier just slipped away, now it felt comfortable for both of the boys in the room.

“Here,” Yeonjun hands him one of the tissues that came with the pizza and Soobin thanks him before wiping the sauce off of his already ruined shirt. “Thanks. Ah, this is my only white shirt what the fuck.”

“Glad to help.”

-

“I don’t mean to be rude, but do you always speak so little?” Soobin asked once he was back from his room, now wearing a dark-colored shirt and his stained shirt placed on the foot of his bed for future him to worry about.

“Oh, no. You just make me nervous, that’s all. I actually talk a lot,” Yeonjun explained, smile now wider and shoulders more relaxed. Okay, maybe he’s not as bad as Soobin thought he was. Keyword is maybe. Soobin’s still waiting for a verbal apology that Yeonjun is yet to give him.

“Why would I make you nervous?” Soobin teased, using the same teasing tone he would normally use on his friends and his mom. “Wait, actually I’m curious about why you sent that pizza in the first place.”

At his questions, Yeonjun’s ears turned red again. “I wanted to ask you out and thought an offering would be a good place to start?”

“Do you go around delivering pizza to people you don’t even know and bribe them with their favorite food?” Soobin joked, and Yeonjun actually rolled his eyes. Which is a good thing in Soobin’s book, that means he’s getting comfortable with Soobin.

“No it was my first time to do it, that was why I was so nervous when we met.” Huh, makes sense.

“How did you know it was my favorite, by the way? Did you ask your friends about it too?” Soobin asked, referencing the part where Yeonjun said he got Soobin’s address from his friends.

“Oh that one I found out myself, I actually go to that pizza place a lot and I see you there a lot too, you always order the same thing.” So Yeonjun’s been observing him? Soobin never stands out from a crowd, even with his height. He’s usually pushed to the background, nothing about him screamed ‘Look at me!’, definitely not one to be observed.

But maybe Yeonjun likes looking at backgrounds instead of the center-pieces like himself.

“That must mean you know my friends too? Since we always go to the pizza place together.”

“Oh that. No, actually. I actually only look at you when you’re there.”

Again, that sounds impossible because his friends had something to them that was worthy of gaining attention. His younger friends were like this bright light in the dark, always attracting attention especially when they’re together.

But it’s also impossible for Soobin to welcome strangers like this, so maybe what’s impossible can be possible after all. “Sounds fake, but okay, Choi Yeonjun.”

When it was almost midnight, Yeonjun said he had to get back to his apartment or else his roommates would lock the door on him and he didn’t really think that he would spend hours with Soobin so he didn’t bother bringing his key with him.

Soobin watched him leave the room and get on the elevator, waving at Soobin before the doors slid close.

“He’s cute.”

The lack of apology went unnoticed by both sides.

**_**Six.** _ **

“I saw the box. You had pizza and didn’t leave me any?” Taehyun whined when he got back from bringing their trash to the back of the building, as he usually does when it’s not Soobin’s turn.

“I was really hungry so I finished it.”

Was that a lie? No, not entirely, but Soobin decides that he would keep his interactions with Yeonjun a secret for now. He doesn’t know why, but something in him wants to have his secrets too. Though he never and will never find it unfair that his three friends are often out with each other, Soobin wants his own thing going on as well. Is that bad?

Beomgyu, Kai, and Taehyun have each other. His mom, though she would do everything to deny it, have a thing going on with the auntie across the street. Soobin? He only had his hobby that is now also the bane of his existence.

He recalls his mom saying nothing exciting ever happens in his life, and Soobin knows that’s true.

He never did anything that greatly impacted his life, maybe because even as a kid he drew a clear line separating his wants from his needs. While students his age explored the world of dating and getting their hearts broken, Soobin didn’t really bother. Sometimes he felt the urge to do the same, but at the end of the day he always asked himself, “Do I _need_ that kind of connection with someone?”

When he figured that his answer was no, that the connection everyone wanted wasn’t a need to him, he fell back and focused on things he thought were stuff that actually needed to be done.

His ongoing crisis about his life revolves around his accomplishments, which he understands is bad because not everything is about achieving something, but hey. He’s 20 years old, he has no idea what to do after university, has no idea what to do now that reading became more of a chore to him, has no idea how to repay his mom for working so hard to make sure he’s happy and content with what he has, he has no idea how to navigate his way through the rest of his life.

Because he never wanted.

Needs over wants, needs over wants, that was his mantra even when he was a kid.

His mom would ask him when he was younger, “What do you want for Christmas, Soobin?”

“Books,” because he needed to be the kid that could read the best. He needed to be the child that would cut his mom’s humble streak and just make her start bragging about how her son could read a whole novel in less than a day and actually understand what’s going on in the book.

When he grew older, his teachers would ask, “You’re quite popular with the students, Soobin. Is there anyone in your year that you want to spend your Valentine’s Day with?”

“No one,” because he knows no one would give his mom chocolates on that day and he needs to save up his allowance so he could buy her the tastiest chocolate and the prettiest flowers. How could he afford that if he’s splitting up his money to buy presents for his mom and another person? He can’t possibly do that.

When Soobin asked himself what he wanted to pursue in university, the answer didn’t need much thinking. “Literature,” because that’s what he’s known since forever. When he asked himself what he wanted, it was already too late, he was too deep into his needs to consider what he wanted.

Maybe now, maybe now he can start wanting. And what he wants right now is for something new, maybe Yeonjun entered his life at the perfect time, maybe Yeonjun can help him figure out what exactly it is he wants. A new friend who can maybe join him as he tries to experience new things in his otherwise bland life.

_Maybe._ That seems to be the word that could describe his whole life. Just a maybe, never sure.

Maybe he wants this, maybe he wants that, maybe he doesn’t.

Soobin badly needs something to want with his whole heart.

**_**Seven.** _ **

“You’re acting weird.”

“I’m your son, you have yourself to blame for that.” That earns him a flick on his forehead.

He’s back in the coffee shop, university students and office workers alike entering and exiting the establishment, one equally as tired-looking as the other. Really, Soobin doesn’t know how his mom manages a place with such gloomy customers that are push away from being dependent on caffeine to keep themselves awake.

That’s rich of him because Soobin knows he can only say that because he doesn’t like the taste of coffee, if he did then he probably would be one of these people he’s making commentaries about in his head.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much before. Seriously, is something going on? Are you drunk? Ate too much candy? Drank too much energy drink? Did you fail an exam so you’re trying to distract me? What’s happening?”

“Mom, mom, can’t a guy be happy?”

“May I ask what you’re so happy about, then?”

“I’m just having a good day, that’s all.”

Earlier this morning, he and Yeonjun went out for a walk, then they ate warm bread at the bakery across the street. He made sure to wear a hoodie this time though, just in case his mother spots his blue hair again.

Soobin knew he was moving too fast, asking for Yeonjun’s number in the library then asking if he wanted to grab breakfast with Soobin the next day. He doesn’t normally go out of his way to make friends, his three friends were the first to approach him, he never made the first move. But he remembered that he’s supposed to be doing what he wants, and what he wanted was to get to know the intriguing boy who would send food to a stranger. So he got up from his bed, threw on his hoodie, and set out.

They meet in front of the bakery, just as Soobin requested.

“Is that the friend you bought egg tarts for?” Soobin shook his head, and the owner of the bakery takes a quick look at the pink-haired boy sitting at the back of the shop. “A date, then?” She teased, wiggling her eyebrows at the boy in front of her who only shook his head again. “A new friend, just that.”

“Do you come here often? The lady looked fond.” Yeonjun said once Soobin comes back to their table carrying warm pastries and hot chocolate. Soobin’s glad he doesn’t have to resort to small talk just to make Yeonjun speak up.

“I come here a lot. Across the street..” Soobin points at the shop outside, and Yeonjun follows his gaze. “..is my mom’s coffee shop. She and the lady have this pining thing going on. So I come here to piss her off into confessing.”

“How about you, are you pining for someone?” Yeonjun asks out of the blue, and Soobin doesn’t know if it’s something people ask someone they just barely met. He proceeds to shrug his shoulders anyway, it’s not personal if there’s nothing to share, right?

“No, not really.”

They drop the topic after that, but Soobin notes how Yeonjun seems adamant about knowing him better. Which was flattering, if he’s being honest. He doesn’t think he’s interesting enough to get questioned like this but Yeonjun seems hang on to every word he says, eagerly waiting to know if Soobin prefers hot chocolate over hot milk on rainy days.

It felt like a game of 20 questions. Yeonjun got to know him, and he got to know Yeonjun. They were on equal grounds. Just like he wanted, for them to be on the same page. At first it was always him who would have to get answers out of Yeonjun, but now the older boy is taking interest in him too and that’s a nice progress to see.

“You haven’t watched The Hunger Games?”

“No, I just read the books.”

“Unacceptable!”

“Says you. You haven’t even read Harry Potter!”

“At least I watched the movies!”

“ _Unacceptable!_ ”

“Choi Yeonjun?”

Their little game was interruped when a voice behind Soobin made itself known. When he turned, he recognizes the boy as one of the boys Yeonjun often hang around with at school. One of his roommates too, if Soobin remembers correctly from what Yeonjun told him.

“Renjun!” Oh right, Renjun. The roommate from the Fine Arts department.

Renjun’s eyes travel from Yeonjun to Soobin, and without knowing why, Soobin suddenly felt shy. He hasn’t even told his own roommate that he’s been hanging out with the pink-haired senior and here’s Yeonjun’s roommate already meeting him? It feels odd not having a common friend.

There’s a spark of recognition on Renjun’s eyes when he looked at Soobin, and Soobin’s not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.

Remembering that manners exist, Soobin stands up from his seat and extends his hand for Renjun to take. Renjun was more than happy to do so, and even smiled at him warmly. He had to leave soon though, because another boy called for his attention, but he did say something before he left. “If something comes up, don’t hesitate to approach me. Okay, Soobin?”

Again, Soobin can only guess what’s going on but he nods anyway. Then, the boy proceeds to ignore his roommate’s existence. It was a weird encounter, yes, but roommate and friend dynamics are weird so he didn’t think more of it. Sometimes Taehyun does it, ignore him, but only because he’s too tired to deal with his surroundings. Soobin understands.

“Now, what’s your opinion about ice cream on coffee?”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“ _Unacceptable._ ”

**_**Eight.** _ **

**__ **

“You mean to tell me that you read all these books?”

“Unwillingly, yes,” Soobin forced a smile.

He’s now back in the library, a small pile of books on the table and Yeonjun looking at him with both amazement and worry. He’s on volunteer duty again, tasked with returning books that university students very kindly left in various places of the library.

“You don’t like reading books?”

Yeonjun shook his head, leaning his arms on the handle of the pushcart he was using to make transferring books easier. “They make me sleepy. I like graphic novels but that’s the end of it, really.”

“Then why are you volunteering here?”

At that Yeonjun smiled mischievously, “Plenty of resting places and the air-conditioning works perfectly.” Soobin gets reminded of his mom’s attitude. Yeonjun and his mom would certainly get along, he hopes they don’t meet.

**__ **

However, much like everything else in his life, Soobin’s hopes are crushed with iron boots.

Yeonjun and his mom met.

Soobin had a tiring day, his eyes hurt, his head hurt, he’s afraid he’s gonna have to charge his university for causing all these damages to his health. He needs something to calm him down, and what better way to do it than get pastries and smell the aroma of freshly brewed coffee? Soobin himself doesn’t drink coffee but he can’t deny that simply smelling it eases his nerves, maybe because it reminds of his mom.

That being said, he enters the shop with a bag from the bakery, tiredly smiling at the staff that greeted him. Then, at the table he always occupied, was a boy with pink hair and said boy was talking to Soobin’s mother.

Fuck.

He loves his mom, really, he does. But she’s the type to get excited whenever her son introduces her to his friend, since as she said, she barely sees Soobin hang out with people from his former schools. Imagine her delight when Soobin introduced her to Taehyun, then Kai and Beomgyu.

Yeonjun’s not a secret he has to keep but in his mind, Soobin wants to be careful. What if this friendship falls apart and he’s suddenly hit with endless questions about where his friend went? Like what they do when someone breaks up with their lover and the whole family asks for the ex during the holidays. It’s a headache.

Just as he was about to turn on his heel and walk back to the bakery though, a door opens from the staff room followed by a voice calling for him from the counter. “Long time no see, Soobin!”

The mention of his name obviously caught the attention of the two people he had wanted to avoid, and Soobin had to force him to smile at one of the part-timers, Chenle. So much for wanting to leave unnoticed.

“Soobin, you’re here!”

“Unfortunately,” he muttered under his breath, walking towards the two. There’s no point in running away.

He made his way over and Yeonjun got up to take a spare chair for him, making his mother coo at how much of a gentleman he was. Yeonjun’s a gentleman for doing the bare minimum? Wow the bar really is low in this economy. Soobin thanks his friend anyway.

“What’s up?”

“Oh. See, this is Yeonjun. He goes to the same university as you and he’s signing up a friend for the shop’s weekly live shows.”

“You hold live shows now?”

“You’d know that we’ve been doing it for months if you visited more often, young man,” she scolded jokingly before facing Yeonjun again. “This is my son, Soobin.”

“Actually, we’re.. friends?” Yeonjun looks at him, unsure if he could call Soobin a friend.

Usually it takes Soobin at least half a year to consider someone a friend but he can’t deny that Yeonjun does feel like a friend to him already, not quite like his other friends but getting there. “Friends, we’re friends, mom.”

Yeonjun smiled brightly at that.

His mom’s reaction is just as bright, clapping her hands together. Soobin guesses this is the part where she would offer Yeonjun free coffee, she always does that. Thanks to her, Beomgyu’s never not caffeinated, Soobin’s actually starting to get concerned for his health.

“How wonderful! Yeonjun, do you like coffee? What kind of coffee do you like? Soobin doesn’t drink coffee so you must have suffered a lot, I understand. Just stop by when you need coffee and it’s on me, alright?”

“Mom you can’t just give out free coffee to anyone!”

“Rude, Soobin! He’s your friend, not just anyone! Just think of it as your friend drinking the coffee that you’re supposed to drink but won’t, alright?”

“Beomgyu’s not drinking enough water because you keep giving him free coffee!”

“Oh leave that poor boy alone. He said he needed to stay up for exams.”

“He stays up playing video games!”

In the middle of this banter was Yeonjun, who was evidently having a good time listening to the mother and son go back and forth about how she’s using supplies for someone she just met and her retaliating about how she doesn’t care because her son’s friends are his sons too. So Choi Soobin grew up under the care of an interesting person, no wonder Soobin’s just as interesting.

When Soobin’s mom finally, finally, leaves the table as she has to take care of business matters, Soobin slumps on his seat and sighs in relief. Yeonjun could only laugh at him, he quite enjoyed the whole scene.

“I’m sorry about her,” Soobin apologized jokingly, and Yeonjun waved his hands dismissively.

“No need for that, your mom’s really cool, actually."

Soobin remembers that he walked here from the bakery, and with that he places the bag of pastries on the table, sliding it between him and Yeonjun who accepted the food with glee. Soobin came to realize that Yeonjun loves eating as much as he does, and aside from their contrasting opinions on coffee, they have similar taste when it comes to food.

“So you’re here to sign up a friend?”

“Oh, yeah. Renjun needed extra money and he saw your mom’s ad while passing the street. I showed her videos of him singing and performing that’s why we got to talking before you walked in. He’s supposed to meet her himself but he has class so here I am.”

“What a good friend you are.”

“Nah, he just told me he’d pay my services if he gets the job.”

Yep, Yeonjun and his mom would surely get along.

**_**Nine.** _ **

**__ **

“I know what you’ve been doing. I- Stop that. Stop. You’re making that ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ face, stop that, what the hell. I’m not blind. _We’re_ not blind.”

“Fine, fine. What did you find out?”

He walks past Taehyun tiredly and makes his way to the couch, where Beomgyu and Kai were sitting on either end so he had no choice but to sit in the middle. It felt like an interrogation, only the plan fell flat when the people interrogating him were the most harmless people he knew..

“You’ve been going on dates with him,” said Kai.

“You already introduced him to your mom,” added Beomgyu.

“Bullshit,” supplied Soobin.

“We’re not going on dates, we’re just hanging out. Also, I didn’t introduce him to my mom, he met her to talk about his friend. How did you guys know anyway? I’m pretty sure we hung out when you guys went on _your_ dates.”

The three blushed at the mention of dates. Oh, young love.

“We told you, Yeonjun’s quite popular in school, he has people pining for him. We heard your name being brought up when we were at the pizza place, that’s how we found out about your _not-dates._ We thought it was BS at first because, you know, you weren’t particularly fond of him after that time you had pizza together. Then earlier today we walked past the coffee shop and the two of you, plus your mom, sitting together. You two looked like you were getting along pretty well.”

Right, Yeonjun’s quite the character in their school. How could he forget that? Maybe because Yeonjun acted so comfortable around him that Soobin forgot about his supposed fame, right. Popular with a nice style and personality? Yeonjun’s popular for a good reason, Soobin will give him that.

“Is that all you guys wanted to talk about?”

“Actually we wanted to tell you something too..” Beomgyu turned his head to look at Kai, then to Taehyun, and back to Soobin. Not only were his cheeks pink, but so were his ears, if he were a kettle he would probably have smoke coming out of his ears too.

Soobin watched Kai take Beomgyu’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze and _oh._ Soobin gets it.

“Someone finally confessed, huh?”

A smile crept on Soobin’s lips as he stood up from his spot on the couch, pushing Taehyun down to where he sat so he would be the one crossing his arms over chest as he watched the trio look at anywhere but him.

Kai let go of Beomgyu so he could hold Taehyun’s hand, and Beomgyu did the same to Taehyun’s other hand. Soobin doesn’t know how long he could take this adorable scene in front of him.

“Why are you guys acting like I’m your dad or something, cheer up, the three of you! Why are you suddenly acting all shy?” Soobin laughed, and he reached his hand out to pat the three on the head.

“So, boyfriends now?”

Taehyun finally found his voice, and he was obviously holding himself back from smiling too widely when he confirmed that the three of them did in fact get their shit together and are now in a relationship with each other. Good for them.

“I’m happy for you guys.”

He really is.

_**Ten.** _

Nothing really changed after his own friends found out that Soobin has a new friend, not that they should make it a big deal anyway. Besides, the three are still trying to familiarize themselves with not just being best friends to each other but also boyfriends.

Boyfriends, Soobin’s glad he didn’t have to do anything just to make the three get together.

Since meeting Yeonjun, his mom constantly asks for the older boy. Asking Soobin when he’s bringing the handsome boy over again because she noticed a sudden surge of productivity with her staff whenever Yeonjun came to visit. Which was pretty often, actually, since Yeonjun walks past the shop everyday to and from university.

Soobin tells her she needs better staff, his mom tells him he doesn’t know what ‘motivation’ is.

“Don’t you think you’re using the friend privilege too much?”

Soobin teased when he saw Yeonjun throw an empty cup bearing the coffee shop’s logo in the nearest trash bin before meeting him in front of the library, the two of them entering the quiet room together. Yeonjun for his volunteer duties, Soobin for another round of reading literature he could care less about. Or maybe a nap, whichever he’s in the mood for.

“Not my fault your mom’s coffee shop is the nearest to my apartment. And you know I need caffeine now more than ever, exam’s just around the corner.”

Oh right, exams.

For Soobin, he needs to read an unending list of passages from classics, write a lot, analyze a lot, he’d be surprised if he can still think properly after the exam to be honest. For Yeonjun, he needs to perfect a performance he choreographed himself, and if there’s one thing Soobin knows about Yeonjun from all the time they spent together, it’s that Yeonjun really loves performing.

He works hard to perfect every move, works hard to make sure he’s in his best condition to perform, makes sure he’s hitting the beat with sharp moves and not one movement looks off. No wonder half of the school knows him, he’s not only a fashionista but also an outstanding dancer. Soobin had the pleasure of watching him dance, albeit it only being though a screen since the performance he wanted was from a year ago. Beomgyu was the one who sent the file to him, saying almost everyone in their school had seen Yeonjun’s end of the year performance but something in him tells him that Soobin didn’t even know the performance happened.

Which was true. The day Yeonjun performed, Soobin was in his room catching up on sleep.

By the end of the video, Soobin respected Yeonjun even more. He’s passionate, he didn’t let university water down his passion for what he wanted to do, unlike Soobin and reading. It must be nice.

For the past few days, they haven’t been able to hang out but Yeonjun’s been sending him messages and telling him that he’s been staying up late to practice his choreography. Honestly? Soobin’s starting to get really worried. Not only because he’s close to overworking himself but also because he drinks way too much caffeine when he should be drinking water. Soobin’s not healthy person himself but he’s sure he eats and drinks more healthily than the older boy.

“You’re awesome, you know that?” It’s not rare for Soobin to throw compliments at Yeonjun, but he feels like now would be the best time to let the boy know that he’s doing really well. Soobin can only imagine how tired Yeonjun must be physically. And what wears you down physically can be dangerous to one’s emotional and mental health as well. Soobin wishes that doesn’t happen to his friend.

“I know,” Yeonjun replies cheekily, wearing his cyan sling around his neck. “But thank you, Soobin. I needed that.” If he needs more, Soobin’s more than willing to provide him with every compliment possible.

An hour into reading, Soobin hears the annoying telltale sound of the pushcart. To no one’s surprise, it’s Yeonjun, except, he was wearing a frown and he looked more tired than normal despite looking quite okay when they entered the library together.

“Tough shift?” Soobin inquires, and unexpectedly, Yeonjun wordlessly makes his way to the chair beside Soobin’s and sits down before resting his forehead on the table.

“They want me to leave late today, said there’s not much volunteers around and there’s too much work to finish,” Soobin notes that there’s a hint of annoyance in Yeonjun’s voice. As there should be.

“But don’t you have to practice for your exam?”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m upset. I’m so tired.”

Looking at him and hearing his tired voice, Soobin feels bad for Yeonjun.

He feels the urge to pat his head, like how he would normally do with a tired Beomgyu when the boy’s angrily strumming his guitar and looking like he hated life. Soobin also feels the urge to mess up Yeonjun’s hair, like how he would do with an upset Kai whenever he feels his fingers starting to hurt from playing the piano but he knows he couldn’t rest yet. Maybe even let Yeonjun rest his head on his shoulder like how he would normally let Taehyun do whenever his roommate just wants to shut his eyes for a bit after staring at a canvas for hours.

It’s normal for Soobin to do those with his friends, and Yeonjun’s his friend, so why can’t he do it?

Soobin suddenly gets an idea.

If he can’t do either of those things with his newest friend, then he can try another method to cheer him up, or at least help him get some sleep before the librarian goes searching for him.

“Take a nap for a bit,” Soobin reaches over to pull the hood of Yeonjun’s hoodie over his head, making sure his pink hair was barely visible and his the cyan sling over his neck was partly covered. “I’ll read you a book until you fall asleep, didn’t you say books make you sleepy?”

“Aren’t you studying?” Yeonjun asked, but made no move to look at Soobin.

Which is a good thing because Soobin is currently looking at him. “It can wait.”

He used to make fun of his friends for stealing glances at each other, for looking away just when the other person is about to look back. He used to do that, but here he is, doing the same. When Yeonjun isn’t looking, Soobin finds himself staring. A million thoughts running through his mind, a million thoughts pointing to one feeling.

Fond.

Soobin is fond of him.

From the way Yeonjun greets him good morning with a wave before getting dragged away by his friends, to the way Soobin would see his pink hair softly bouncing as he runs to where Soobin is so they could have a short talk before Yeonjun leaves to practice again. In such a short amount of time, Yeonjun is someone Soobin came to care for.

With his friends being out and about, going on their weekly dates, Yeonjun’s presence made Soobin content. He didn’t feel lonely because of Yeonjun, and he’s glad that oftentimes, it’s the older boy who sends him messages first instead of him. It gives him a sense of importance, like Yeonjun really does want to talk to him. It feels nice.

“Where’s my bedtime story?”

Soobin gets snapped out of his thoughts when Yeonjun turns his head to him and opens one eye, wondering why Soobin hasn’t made any sound since five minutes ago. When he finds that Soobin’s already looking at him though, Yeonjun just chuckles before asking the question. It’s not Soobin’s first time getting caught staring.

“Oh right- Yeah- I’m on it.” The flustered blue-haired boy takes his eyes away from the boy beside him and Soobin swear he heard Yeonjun snicker, but he has his own embarrassment to handle so he doesn’t think much about it.

“You’re cute, Soobin.” Soobin decides to ignore those words and reach for The Little Prince.

**__ ** **__ **

**_**Eleven.** _ **

**__ **

The day before their dreaded exams, Yeonjun walks up to him when was just coming out from one of his class. He’s not wearing anything fancy today, just a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, his practice clothes he called them. “Renjun got the job and he’s going to play later. Do you want to watch his first performance together?”

Soobin looks at his watch, then digs deep into his brain trying to remember if he has anything due at midnight. When he comes up with nothing, he returns Yeonjun’s smile and nods, making the boy clap in delight.

“But why didn’t you just text me this instead of coming all the way here?”

“I wanted to see you.” Soobin hoped he was able to hide his confusion because _what the fuck_.

Later that day, Soobin’s back in the dormitory, and so are his friends.

They’re all focused on their respective study guides, all three sitting on the same couch but no one was really speaking up. Occasionally, Kai would get up to get a drink or some snacks for all of them, then Beomgyu would sigh and rest his head on Kai’s or Taehyun’s shoulder, and Taehyun would link his arm on whoever was the closest to him.

It’s rare to see the three not talking to each other but maybe action does speak louder than words sometimes. 

After taking a short nap and washing up, he proceeds to dress up for his trip to the shop. Somehow, somehow, he wants to dress extra special today even if that just meant replacing his sweatpants with jeans and trading the hoodie for a nice shirt and a denim jacket. Certainly nothing like Yeonjun’s style but enough to make his friends look up in bewilderment.

“What’s the occasion?” Beomgyu asked, eyeing his head from head to toe once Soobin emerged from his room.

“Nothing, just going to the coffee shop.”

“All dressed up?”

“Yep.”

“All alone?”

“Yep.”

“Just a simple visit to your mom’s shop?”

“Yeah.”

“So what’s _he_ doing here?”

“Huh?”

Soobin looks at where Taehyun was pointing his book at and there he is, Choi Yeonjun, looking as stylish as ever though a little bit shy and ears evidently red. Kai snickers from his position, and Soobin’s sure that he would have teased him if it wasn’t for Taehyun covering his mouth.

Soobin’s eyebrows met in the middle, his lips unconsciously forming a pout as he walked closer. He knew his friends were watching his every move but right now he’s more concerned as to why Yeonjun’s here when Soobin thought they were meeting at the venue. He feels a bit awkward about Yeonjun unexpectedly meeting his roommate (roommates?), not gonna lie about that.

Yeonjun stood up when Soobin was close enough, shyly rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke lowly, “Sorry. I, umm.. I thought it would be nice if we went there together so I came. I didn’t expect your friends to answer the door.”

Then he let out a nervous laugh, as if the presence of the three intimidated him. Which is nonsense because he’s technically the most intimidating person in this room with his styled pink hair, multiple earrings, black band shirt, sharp eyes, a bit of eyeshadow on his eyelids, full lips- you get the point.

“It’s okay,” Soobin assured him with a smile, and Yeonjun fortunately looks a bit more relaxed after that.

“Guys, Yeonjun. Yeonjun, these are my friends. Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai.” 

The two parties exchange smiles at each other, Yeonjun still shy but obviously trying his best to leave a good impression, and the three friendly and trying their best to make him feel welcome. They didn’t have time to stick around though, because they still have a performance to catch after all.

When they get to the coffee shop, Soobin is surprised to find out that the is actually popular to students from his own university during Thursday nights because of the live shows. He mostly stops by during the weekends, sometimes on Fridays, but never Thursdays, he’s quite taken aback by how many people were eager for the show.

Just his first show and Renjun already performing for quite a crowd, Soobin wishes him good luck.

They make their way to the seat that is reserved for Soobin and his mom, and as expected she was there, but she directs them to another table instead. “I have, umm, a guest of my own.”

It took Soobin a while to get what she meant, but when he did, he smiled at her slyly. “Have fun on your date,” he winked and Yeonjun gave his mother a polite wave first before following him to the other side of the shop.

“Did you really not know about the live shows?”

Yeonjun asked once they’ve settled down, Chenle walking away after placing Yeonjun’s usual (free) iced americano and Soobin’s own iced chocolate with a hint of milk on the table. Chenle gave Soobin teasing glances, undoubtedly teasing him with Yeonjun, but Soobin decides to ignore that for now.

“No, I don’t visit much.”

“You don’t go out a lot, do you?”

“Unless needed, not really.”

“Glad you came out tonight, then.” It’s that voice again.

“Renjun!” Yeonjun beamed, getting up to give his roommate a brief hug and a pat on the back, “Good luck on your first week!”

“Thanks. Thanks for coming,” Renjun smiled at Yeonjun just as briefly before pulling away from the hug and addressing Soobin who was watching them from the side, sipping on his drink that surprisingly tastes different from the iced chocolate he was usually served whenever he came over. This one tasted better somehow, Soobin didn’t know that was possible.

“I didn’t know this was your coffee shop, I guess you’re my boss now?” Renjun took a vacant seat from an occupied table and dragged it between Yeonjun and Soobin, gently leaning his guitar beside his chair. He made a move of bowing at Soobin in a formal manner, calling him ‘boss’ again before Soobin laughed and waved his hand dismissively.

“Technically it’s my mom’s business so no need for that.”

“Okay then, Soobin.” The first time they met, it was Soobin who extended his hand to shake Renjun’s hand. Now, it’s the blond boy’s turn to hold his hand out, wearing a smile that took Soobin off-guard because woah he’s surrounded by pretty people.

“I’m Huang Renjun, we’ve already met but let me introduce myself again as the new part-timer who made your drink and also the talent for Thursday evenings.” 

Soobin looked at the drink on his free hand, then back at Renjun, then back at the drink, “You made this?” he asked with glee, taking Renjun’s hand and shaking it eagerly.

No wonder his drink tasted different, someone else had made it.

“Yeonjun, you didn’t tell me your roommate could make iced chocolate so well?”

“I didn’t know either,” Yeonjun replied rather.. coldly.

Soobin lets go of Renjun’s hand and his smile drops a bit, what’s up Yeonjun? He’s never heard the boy talk with that tone before, not even on the first day they met when he looked so disappointed.

Renjun doesn’t seem bothered though, in fact, he looked quite entertained because his smile only grew bigger. His demeanor calmed Soobin’s nerves a bit but the icy tone of his friend still bothered him, and Yeonjun’s expression didn’t look too good either.

Instead of the bright cheery smile he often wore, he’s just looking at the empty stage with a pointed stare, his iced coffee left untouched. The iced coffee which Renjun took without a word as he stood up, the sling of his guitar on his shoulder, and with a wink at Soobin - he left for the exact place Yeonjun was looking at.

Odd. Also rude. But mostly odd.

The rest of Soobin’s time in the coffee shop passed in a blur.

When Renjun started singing, everyone was enthralled, including Soobin himself. Not only does he make good drinks, but he also plays the guitar well and also sings well too. He mostly sang acoustic versions of popular songs, and Soobin found himself either singing along quietly or swaying his body side to side. Renjun’s an art kid though and through, isn’t he?

His companion though, he didn’t look like he was enjoying the show as much as Soobin did. If his still stoic face was anything to go by. Soobin doesn’t want to assume but maybe these two roommates aren’t in good terms with each other, and even though he shouldn’t pick sides in a fight that might not even exist, Soobin finds himself not having a good second first impression of his new.. acquaintance.

“Yeonjun, do you want to get out of here?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update often but since I have uni I can't really have a consistent update sched (ノT＿T)ノ ＾┻━┻


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